Chapter IV [1526-1530]

DISTURBANCES IN MEXICO- RETURN OF CORTES- DISTRUST OF THE COURT-
HIS RETURN TO SPAIN- DEATH OF SANDOVAL-
BRILLIANT RECEPTION OF CORTES- HONOURS CONFERRED ON HIM

THE intelligence alluded to in the preceding chapter was
conveyed in a letter to Cortes from the licentiate Zuazo, one of the
functionaries to whom the general had committed the administration
of the country during his absence. It contained full particulars of
the tumultuous proceedings in the capital. No sooner had Cortes
quitted it, than dissensions broke out among the different members
of the provisional government. The misrule increased as his absence
was prolonged. At length tidings were received, that Cortes with his
whole army had perished in the morasses of Chiapa. The members of
the government showed no reluctance to credit this story. They now
openly paraded their own authority; proclaimed the general's death;
caused funeral ceremonies to be performed in his honour; took
possession of his property wherever they could meet with it, piously
devoting a small part of the proceeds to purchasing masses for his
soul, while the remainder was appropriated to pay off what was
called his debt to the state. They seized, in like manner, the
property of other individuals engaged in the expedition. From these
outrages they proceeded to others against the Spanish residents in the
city, until the Franciscan missionaries left the capital in disgust,
while the Indian population were so sorely oppressed, that great
apprehensions were entertained of a general rising. Zuazo, who
communicated these tidings, implored Cortes to quicken his return.
He was a temperate man, and the opposition which he had made to the
tyrannical measures of his comrades had been rewarded with exile.

The general, greatly alarmed by this account, saw that no
alternative was left but to abandon all further schemes of conquest,
and to return at once, if he would secure the preservation of the
empire which he had won. He accordingly made the necessary
arrangements for settling the administration of the colonies at
Honduras, and embarked with a small number of followers for Mexico.

He had not been long at sea, when he encountered such a terrible
tempest as seriously damaged his vessel, and compelled him to return
to port and refit. A second attempt proved equally unsuccessful; and
Cortes, feeling that his good star had deserted him, saw, in this
repeated disaster, an intimation from Heaven that he was not to
return. He contented himself, therefore, with sending a trusty
messenger to advise his friends of his personal safety in Honduras. He
then instituted processions and public prayers to ascertain the will
of Heaven, and to deprecate its anger. His health now showed the
effects of his recent sufferings, and declined under a wasting
fever. His spirits sank with it, and he fell into a state of gloomy
despondency. Bernal Diaz, speaking of him at this time, says, that
nothing could be more wan and emaciated than his person, and that so
strongly was he possessed with the idea of his approaching end, that
he procured a Franciscan habit,- for it was common to be laid out in
the habit of some one or other of the monastic orders,- in which to be
carried to the grave.

From this deplorable apathy Cortes was roused by fresh advices
urging his presence in Mexico, and by the judicious efforts of his
good friend Sandoval, who had lately returned, himself, from an
excursion into the interior. By his persuasion, the general again
consented to try his fortunes on the seas. He embarked on board of a
brigantine, with a few followers, and bade adieu to the disastrous
shores of Honduras, 25th of April, 1526. He had nearly made the
coast of New Spain, when a heavy gale threw him off his course, and
drove him to the island of Cuba. After staying there some time to
recruit his exhausted strength, he again put to sea on the 16th of
May, and in eight days landed near San Juan de Ulua, whence he
proceeded about five leagues on foot to Medellin.

Cortes was so much changed by disease, that his person was not
easily recognised. But no sooner was it known that the general had
returned, than crowds of people, white men and natives, thronged
from all the neighbouring country to welcome him. The tidings spread
on the wings of the wind and his progress was a triumphal
procession. At all the great towns where he halted he was
sumptuously entertained. Triumphal arches were thrown across the road,
and the streets were strewed with flowers as he passed. After a
night's repose at Tezcuco, he made his entrance in great state into
the capital. The municipality came out to welcome him, and a brilliant
cavalcade of armed citizens formed his escort; while the lake was
covered with barges of the Indians, all fancifully decorated with
their gala dresses, as on the day of his first arrival among them. The
streets echoed to music, and dancing, and sounds of jubilee, as the
procession held on its way to the great convent of St. Francis,
where thanksgivings were offered up for the safe return of the
general, who then proceeded to take up his quarters once more in his
own princely residence.- It was in June, 1526, when Cortes
re-entered Mexico; nearly two years had elapsed since he had left
it, on his difficult march to Honduras, a march which led to no
important results, but which consumed nearly as much time, and was
attended with sufferings as severe, as the conquest of Mexico
itself. Cortes did not abuse his present advantage. He, indeed,
instituted proceedings against his enemies; but he followed them up so
languidly as to incur the imputation of weakness, the only instance in
which he has been so accused.

He was not permitted long to enjoy the sweets of triumph. In the
month of July, he received advices of the arrival of a juez de
residencia on the coast, sent by the court of Madrid to supersede
him temporarily in the government. The crown of Castile, as its
colonial empire extended, became less and less capable of watching
over its administration. It was therefore obliged to place vast powers
in the hands of its viceroys; and, as suspicion naturally
accompanies weakness, it was ever prompt to listen to accusations
against these powerful vassals. In such cases the government adopted
the expedient of sending out a commissioner, or juez de residencia,
with authority to investigate the conduct of the accused, to suspend
him in the meanwhile from his office, and, after a judicial
examination, to reinstate him in it, or to remove him altogether,
according to the issue of the trial. The enemies of Cortes had been,
for a long time, busy in undermining his influence at court, and in
infusing suspicions of his loyalty in the bosom of the emperor.
Since his elevation to the government of the country, they had
redoubled their mischievous activity, and they assailed his
character with the foulest imputations. They charged him with
appropriating to his own use the gold which belonged to the crown, and
especially with secreting the treasures of Montezuma. He was said to
have made false reports of the provinces he had conquered, that he
might defraud the exchequer of its lawful revenues. He had distributed
the principal offices among his own creatures; and had acquired an
unbounded influence, not only over the Spaniards, but the natives, who
were all ready to do his bidding. He had expended large sums in
fortifying both the capital and his own palace; and it was evident
from the magnitude of his schemes and his preparations, that he
designed to shake off his allegiance, and to establish an
independent sovereignty in New Spain.

The government, greatly alarmed by these formidable charges, the
probability of which they could not estimate, appointed a commissioner
with full powers to investigate the matter. The person selected for
this delicate office was Luis Ponce de Leon, a man of high family,
young for such a post, but of a mature judgment, and distinguished for
his moderation and equity. The nomination of such a minister gave
assurance that the crown meant to do justly by Cortes.

The emperor wrote at the same time with his own hand to the
general, advising him of this step, and assuring him that it was
taken, not from distrust of his integrity, but to afford him the
opportunity of placing that integrity in a clear light before the
world.

Ponce de Leon reached Mexico in July, 1526. He was received with
all respect by Cortes and the municipality of the capital; and the two
parties interchanged those courtesies with each other, which gave
augury that the future proceedings would be conducted in a spirit of
harmony. Unfortunately, this fair beginning was blasted by the death
of the commissioner in a few weeks after his arrival, a circumstance
which did not fail to afford another item in the loathsome mass of
accusation heaped upon Cortes. The commissioner fell the victim of a
malignant fever, which carried off a number of those who had come over
in the vessel with him.

On his death-bed, Ponce de Leon delegated his authority to an
infirm old man, who survived but a few months, and transmitted the
reins of government to a person named Estrada or Strada, the royal
treasurer, one of the officers sent from Spain to take charge of the
finances, and who was personally hostile to Cortes. The Spanish
residents would have persuaded Cortes to assert for himself at least
an equal share of the authority, to which they considered Estrada as
having no sufficient title. But the general, with singular moderation,
declined a competition in this matter, and determined to abide a
more decided expression of his sovereign's will. To his mortification,
the nomination of Estrada was confirmed, and this dignitary soon
contrived to inflict on his rival all those annoyances by which a
little mind, in possession of unexpected power, endeavours to make his
superiority felt over a great one. The recommendations of Cortes
were disregarded; his friends mortified and insulted; his attendants
outraged by injuries. One of the domestics of his friend Sandoval, for
some slight offence, was sentenced to lose his hand; and when the
general remonstrated against these acts of violence, he was
peremptorily commanded to leave the city! The Spaniards, indignant
at this outrage, would have taken up arms in his defence; but Cortes
would allow no resistance, and, simply remarking, "that it was well,
that those, who at the price of their blood, had won the capital,
should not be allowed a footing in it," withdrew to his favourite
villa of Cojohuacan, a few miles distant, to wait there the result
of these strange proceedings.

The suspicions of the court of Madrid, meanwhile, fanned by the
breath of calumny, had reached the most preposterous height. One might
have supposed, that it fancied the general was organising a revolt
throughout the colonies, and meditated nothing less than an invasion
of the mother country. Intelligence having been received, that a
vessel might speedily be expected from New Spain, orders were sent
to the different ports of the kingdom, and even to Portugal, to
sequestrate the cargo, under the expectation that it contained
remittances to the general's family, which belonged to the crown;
while his letters, affording the most luminous account of all his
proceedings and discoveries, were forbidden to be printed.
Fortunately, three letters, forming the most important part of the
Conqueror's correspondence, had already been given to the world by the
indefatigable press of Seville.

The court, moreover, made aware of the incompetency of the
treasurer, Estrada, to the present delicate conjuncture, now intrusted
the whole affair of the inquiry to a commission dignified with the
title of the Royal Audience of New Spain. This body was clothed with
full powers to examine into the charges against Cortes, with
instructions to send him back, as a preliminary measure, to
Castile,- peacefully if they could, but forcibly if necessary. Still
afraid that its belligerent vassal might defy the authority of this
tribunal, the government resorted to artifice to effect his return.
The president of the Indian Council was commanded to write to him,
urging his presence in Spain to vindicate himself from the charges
of his enemies, and offering his personal co-operation in his defence.
The emperor further wrote a letter to the Audience, containing his
commands for Cortes to return, as the government wished to consult him
on matters relating to the Indies, and to bestow on him a recompense
suited to his high deserts. This letter was intended to be shown to
Cortes.

But it was superfluous to put in motion all this complicated
machinery to effect a measure on which Cortes was himself resolved.
Proudly conscious of his own unswerving loyalty, and of the benefits
he had rendered to his country, he felt deeply sensible to this
unworthy requital of them, especially on the very theatre of his
achievements. He determined to abide no longer where he was exposed to
such indignities; but to proceed at once to Spain, present himself
before his sovereign, boldly assert his innocence, and claim redress
for his wrongs, and a just reward for his services. In the close of
his letter to the emperor, detailing the painful expedition to
Honduras, after enlarging on the magnificent schemes he had
entertained of discovery in the South Sea, and vindicating himself
from the charge of a too lavish expenditure, he concludes with the
lofty, yet touching, declaration, "that he trusts his Majesty will
in time acknowledge his deserts; but, if that unhappily shall not
be, the world at least will be assured of his loyalty, and he
himself shall have the conviction of having done his duty; and no
better inheritance than this shall he ask for his children."

No sooner was the intention of Cortes made known, than it
excited a general sensation through the country. Even Estrada
relented; he felt that he had gone too far, and that it was not his
policy to drive his noble enemy to take refuge in his own land.
Negotiations were opened, and an attempt at a reconciliation was
made through the Bishop of Tlascala. Cortes received these overtures
in a courteous spirit, but his resolution was unshaken. Having made
the necessary arrangements, therefore, in Mexico, he left the
valley, and proceeded at once to the coast. Had he entertained the
criminal ambition imputed to him by his enemies, he might have been
sorely tempted by the repeated offers of support which were made to
him, whether in good or in bad faith, on the journey, if he would
but re-assume the government, and assert his independence of Castile.

On his arrival at Villa Rica, he received the painful tidings of
the death of his father, Don Martin Cortes, whom he had hoped so
soon to embrace, after his long and eventful absence. Having
celebrated his obsequies with every mark of filial respect, he made
preparations for his speedy departure. Two of the best vessels in
the port were got ready and provided with everything requisite for a
long voyage. He was attended by his friend, the faithful Sandoval,
by Tapia, and some other cavaliers, most attached to his person. He
also took with him several Aztec and Tlascalan chiefs, and among
them a son of Montezuma, and another of Maxixca, the friendly old
Tlascalan lord, both of whom were desirous to accompany the general to
Castile. He carried home a large collection of plants and minerals, as
specimens of the natural resources of the country; several wild
animals and birds of gaudy plumage; various fabrics of delicate
workmanship, especially the gorgeous feather-work; and a number of
jugglers, dancers, and buffoons, who greatly astonished the
Europeans by the marvellous facility of their performances, and were
thought a suitable present for his Holiness, the Pope. Lastly,
Cortes displayed his magnificence in a rich treasure of jewels,
among which were emeralds of extraordinary size and lustre, gold to
the amount of two hundred thousand pesos de oro, and fifteen hundred
marks of silver.

After a brief and prosperous voyage, Cortes came in sight once
more of his native shores, and crossing the bar of Saltes, entered the
little port of Palos in May, 1528,- the same spot where Columbus had
landed five and thirty years before on his return from the discovery
of the Western World. Cortes was not greeted with the enthusiasm and
public rejoicings which welcomed the great navigator; and, indeed, the
inhabitants were not prepared for his arrival. From Palos he soon
proceeded to the convent of La Rabida, the same place, also, within
the hospitable walls of which Columbus had found a shelter. An
interesting circumstance is mentioned by historians, connected with
his short stay at Palos. Francisco Pizarro, the Conqueror of Peru, had
arrived there, having come to Spain to solicit aid for his great
enterprise. He was then in the commencement of his brilliant career,
as Cortes might be said to be at the close of his. He was an old
acquaintance, and a kinsman, as is affirmed, of the general, whose
mother was a Pizarro. The meeting of these two extraordinary men,
the Conquerors of the North and of the South, in the New World, as
they set foot, after their eventful absence, on the shores of their
native land, and that, too, on the spot consecrated by the presence of
Columbus, has something in it striking to the imagination.

While reposing from the fatigues of his voyage at La Rabida, an
event occurred which afflicted Cortes deeply, and which threw a dark
cloud over his return. This was the death of Gonzalo de Sandoval,
his trusty friend, and so long the companion of his fortunes. He was
taken ill in a wretched inn at Palos, soon after landing; and his
malady gained ground so rapidly, that it was evident his constitution,
impaired, probably, by the extraordinary fatigues he had of late years
undergone, would be unable to resist it. Cortes was instantly sent
for, and arrived in time to administer the last consolations of
friendship to the dying cavalier. Sandoval met his approaching end
with composure, and, having given the attention, which the short
interval allowed, to the settlement of both his temporal and spiritual
concerns, he breathed his last in the arms of his commander.

Before departing from La Rabida, Cortes had written to the
court, informing it of his arrival in the country. Great was the
sensation caused there by the intelligence; the greater, that the late
reports of his treasonable practices had made it wholly unexpected.
His arrival produced an immediate change of feeling. All cause of
jealousy was now removed; and, as the clouds which had so long settled
over the royal mind were dispelled, the emperor seemed only anxious to
show his sense of the distinguished services of his so dreaded vassal.
Orders were sent to different places on the route to provide him
with suitable accommodations, and preparations were made to give him a
brilliant reception in the capital.

The tidings of his arrival had by this time spread far and wide
throughout the country; and, as he resumed his journey, the roads
presented a spectacle such as had not been seen since the return of
Columbus. Cortes did not usually effect an ostentation of dress,
though he loved to display the pomp of a great lord in the number
and magnificence of his retainers. His train was now swelled by the
Indian chieftains, who, by the splendours of their barbaric finery,
gave additional brilliancy, as well as novelty, to the pageant. But
his own person was the object of general curiosity. The houses and the
streets of the great towns and villages were thronged with spectators,
eager to look on the hero, who, with his single arm, as it were, had
won an empire for Castile, and who, to borrow the language of an old
historian, "came in the pomp and glory, not so much of a great vassal,
as of an independent monarch."

As he approached Toledo, then the rival of Madrid, the press of
the multitude increased, till he was met by the Duke de Bejar, the
Count de Aguilar, and others of his steady friends, who, at the head
of a large body of the principal nobility and cavaliers of the city,
came out to receive him, and attended him to the quarters prepared for
his residence. It was a proud moment for Cortes; and distrusting, as
he well might, his reception by his countrymen, it afforded him a
greater satisfaction than the brilliant entrance, which, a few years
previous, he had made into the capital of Mexico.

The following day he was admitted to an audience by the emperor;
and Cortes, gracefully kneeling to kiss the hand of his sovereign,
presented to him a memorial which succinctly recounted his services
and the requital he had received for them. The emperor graciously
raised him, and put many questions to him respecting the countries
he had conquered. Charles was pleased with the general's answers,
and his intelligent mind took great satisfaction in inspecting the
curious specimens of Indian ingenuity which his vassal had brought
with him from New Spain. In subsequent conversations the emperor
repeatedly consulted Cortes on the best mode of administering the
government of the colonies; and by his advice introduced some
important regulations, especially for ameliorating the condition of
the natives, and for encouraging domestic industry.

The monarch took frequent opportunity to show the confidence which
he now reposed in Cortes. On all public occasions he appeared with him
by his side; and once, when the general lay ill of a fever, Charles
paid him a visit in person, and remained some time in the apartment of
the invalid. This was an extraordinary mark of condescension in the
haughty court of Castile; and it is dwelt upon with becoming
emphasis by the historians of the time, who seem to regard it as an
ample compensation for all the sufferings and services of Cortes.

The latter had now fairly triumphed over opposition. The
courtiers, with that ready instinct which belongs to the tribe,
imitated the example of their master; and even envy was silent, amidst
the general homage that was paid to the man who had so lately been a
mark for the most envenomed calumny. Cortes, without a title,
without a name but what he had created for himself, was, at once, as
it were, raised to a level with the proudest nobles in the land.

He was so still more effectually by the substantial honours
which were accorded to him by his sovereign in the course of the
following year. By an instrument, dated 6th July, 1529, the emperor
raised him to the dignity of the Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca. Two
other instruments, dated in the same month of July, assigned to Cortes
a vast tract of land in the rich province of Oaxaca, together with
large estates in the city of Mexico and other places in the valley.
The princely domain thus granted comprehended more than twenty large
towns and villages, and twenty-three thousand vassals. The language in
which the gift was made greatly enhanced its value. The unequivocal
testimony thus borne by his sovereign to his unwavering loyalty was
most gratifying to Cortes;- how gratifying, every generous soul, who
has been the subject of suspicion undeserved, will readily estimate.

Yet there was one degree in the scale, above which the royal
gratitude would not rise. Neither the solicitations of Cortes, nor
those of the Duke de Bejar, and his other powerful friends, could
prevail on the emperor to reinstate him in the government of Mexico.
The country reduced to tranquillity had no longer need of his
commanding genius to control it; and Charles did not care to place
again his formidable vassal in a situation which might revive the
dormant spark of jealousy and distrust. It was the policy of the crown
to employ one class of its subjects to effect its conquests, and
another class to rule over them. For the latter it selected men in
whom the fire of ambition was tempered by a cooler judgment naturally,
or by the sober influence of age. Even Columbus, notwithstanding the
terms of his original "capitulation" with the crown, had not been
permitted to preside over the colonies; and still less likely would it
be concede this power to one possessed of the aspiring temper of
Cortes.

But although the emperor refused to commit the civil government of
the colony into his hands, he reinstated him in his military
command. By a royal ordinance, dated also in July, 1529, the
Marquess of the Valley was named Captain-General of New Spain, and
of the coasts of the South Sea. He was empowered to make discoveries
in the Southern Ocean, with the right to rule over such lands as he
should colonise, and by a subsequent grant he was to become proprietor
of one-twelfth of all his discoveries. The government had no design to
relinquish the services of so able a commander. But it warily
endeavoured to withdraw him from the scene of his former triumphs, and
to throw open a new career of ambition, that might stimulate him still
further to enlarge the dominions of the crown.

Thus gilded by the sunshine of royal favour, with brilliant
manners, and a person, which, although it showed the effects of hard
service, had not yet lost all the attractions of youth, Cortes might
now be regarded as offering an enviable alliance for the best houses
in Castile. It was not long before he paid his addresses, which were
favourably received, to a member of that noble house which had so
steadily supported him in the dark hour of his fortunes. The lady's
name was Dona Juana de Zuniga, daughter of the second Count de
Aguilar, and niece of the Duke de Bejar. She was much younger than
himself, beautiful, and, as event showed, not without spirit. One of
his presents to his youthful bride excited the admiration and envy
of the fairer part of the court. This was five emeralds, of
wonderful size and brilliancy. These jewels had been cut by the Aztecs
into the shapes of flowers, fishes, and into other fanciful forms,
with an exquisite style of workmanship which enhanced their original
value. They were, not improbably, part of the treasure of the
unfortunate Montezuma, and, being easily portable, may have escaped
the general wreck of the noche triste. The queen of Charles the Fifth,
it is said,- it may be the idle gossip of a court,- had intimated a
willingness to become proprietor of some of these magnificent baubles;
and the preference which Cortes gave to his fair bride caused some
feelings of estrangement in the royal bosom, which had an unfavourable
influence on the future fortunes of the marquess.

Late in the summer of 1529, Charles the Fifth left his Spanish
dominions for Italy. Cortes accompanied him on his way, probably to
the place of embarkation: and in the capital of Aragon we find him,
according to the national historian, exciting the same general
interest and admiration among the people as he had done in Castile. On
his return, there seemed no occasion for him to protract his stay
longer in the country. He was weary of the life of idle luxury which
he had been leading for the last year, and which was so foreign to his
active habits and the stirring scenes to which he had been accustomed.
He determined, therefore, to return to Mexico, where his extensive
property required his presence, and where a new field was now opened
to him for honourable enterprise.

6. "What Cortés suffered," says Dr. Robertson, "on this march, a distance, according to Gomara, of 3000 miles,"--(the distance must be greatly exaggerated,)--"from famine, from the hos­tility of the natives, from the climate, and from hardships of every species, has nothing in his­tory parallel to it, but what occurs in the adventures of the other discoverers and conquerors of the New World. Cortés was employed in this dreadful service above two years; and, though it was not distinguished by any splendid event, he exhibited, during the course of it, greater personal courage, more fortitude of mind, more perseverance and patience, than in any other period or scene in his life." (Hist. of America, Note 96.) The historian's remarks are just; as the passages, which I have borrowed from the extraordinary record of the Conqueror, may show. Those, who are desirous of seeing something of the narrative told in his own way, will find a few pages of it translated in the Appendix, Part 2, No. 14.

15. The Pope, who was of the joyous Medici family, Clement VII., and the cardinals, were greatly delighted with the feats of the Indian jugglers, according to Diaz; and his Holiness, who, it may be added, received at the same time from Cortés a substantial donative of gold and jew­els, publicly testified, by prayers and solemn processions, his great sense of the services ren­dered to Christianity by the Conquerors of Mexico, and generously requited them by bulls, granting plenary absolution from their sins. Hist. de la Conquista, cap. 195.

25. Humboldt, Essai Politique, tom. II. p. 30, note.
According to Lanuza, he was offered by the emperor the Order of St. Jago, but declined it, because no encomienda was attached to it. (Hist. de Aragon, tom. I. lib. 3, cap. 14.) But Caro de Torres, in his History of the Military Orders of Castile, enumerates Cortés among the members of the Compostellan fraternity. Hist. de las Ord. Militares, (Madrid, 1629,) fol. 103, et seq.

28. "The benignant reception which I experienced, on my return, from your Majesty," says Cortés, "your kind expressions and generous treatment, make me not only forget all my toils and sufferings, but even cause me regret that I have not been called to endure more in your service." (Carta de Cortés al Lic. Nuñez, MS., 1535.) This memorial, addressed to his agent in Castile, was designed for the emperor.

31. "Que, segun se dezia, excedia en las hazañas á Alexandro Magno, y en las riquezas á Crasso." (Lanuza, Hist. de Aragon, lib. 3, cap. 14.) The rents of the marquess of the Valley, according to L. Marineo Siculo, who lived at the court at this time, were about 60,000 ducats a year. Cosas Memorables de España, (Alcalá de Henares, 1539,) fol. 24.

32. Doña Juana was of the house of Arellano, and of the royal lineage of Navarre. Her father was not a very wealthy noble. L. Marineo Siculo, Cosas Mem., fol. 24, 25.

33. One of these precious stones was as valuable as Shylock's turquoise. Some Genoese mer­chants in Seville offered Cortés, according to Gomara, 40,000 ducats for it. The same author gives a more particular account of the jewels, which may interest some readers. It shows the ingenuity of the artist, who, without steel, could so nicely cut so hard a material. One emer­ald was in the form of a rose; the second in that of a horn; a third, like a fish, with eyes of gold; the fourth was like a little bell, with a fine pearl for the tongue, and on the rim was this inscription, in Spanish, Blessed is he who created thee. The fifth, which was the most valuable, was a small cup with a foot of gold, and with four little chains, of the same metal, attached to a large pearl as a button. The edge of the cup was of gold, on which was engraven this Latin sentence, Inter natos mulierum non surrexit major. Gomara, Crónica, cap. 184.